The present invention relates to bearings, and more specifically, to surface texture of bearing raceways.
The impact of surface texture on lubrication performance is strongly dependent on tribological component design and application conditions. In applications of surface texturing within the contact zone between rolling elements and raceways of bearings, the contact stress between mating component surfaces is very high. Surface texture within the contact zone may help retain lubricant, but it may also cause near-surface stress concentrations that offset its beneficiary lubrication effects by being potentially detrimental to surface durability.